There's a new show on HBO over here about a chemistry teacher who, when diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, rents an RV with an ex-pupil and cooks meth. It's like 'Weeds', only smelly. And the teacher's a guy of course.

Ah well, Marie Curie ended up dying from an illness caused by her exposure to radiation, and Maggie must have discovered the secret of eternal life. That's justice for you, eh? I hope you didn't dabble with anything that could be hazardous to your health Kaz (apart from the booze of course).

Arabella:At least with weed you can have the right sort of 'organic' - grown with real garden compost. I'll bear in mind the meth synthesis for a rainy day.

HE:I hear that was Marie's motivation for discovering Radium

Betty:Before COSHH (Control of substances hazardous to health)I had to prepare and use all the awful gases (carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, sulphur dioxide etc.) and the smelly organics which were probably carcinogenic or something.I think alcohol must have acted as the antidote because I'm in the rudest (?) of health

It seems both Bernard Ingham and Carol Thatcher have admitted she has no short-term memory, which, coupled with the small strokes she suffered a few years ago, indicates vascular dementia (Mrs Malc is something of an expert). Not as unpleasant as Alzheimers, but bad all the same.

What bugs me is that, given the choice between (a) working in science for the benefit of mankind or (b) crushing the trade unions, giving her fat-cat business chums carte blanche and ensuring our perpetual enslavement to 'the market', she went for option b.Unhappy childhood?

I think you are very clever because I cannot do my daughter's A level chemistry homework - they've found more molecules or something since my day and as for all those bloody enzymes running the show, who'd have thunk it!

Malc:Thanks for this info - she probably won't remember that recent inexplicable 'love in' with Gordon at no 10.When she was a chemist she invented Mr Whippy ice cream. Just imagine how the world could have benefitted if she's carried on.

I'm learnin' all kinds of stuff!Have now added some fine local Amy's ice cream to the 'Emergency!Don't Touch-For When Thatcher Is Dead!' party supplies box in the fridge. Mostly champagne.I have a feeling this sentiment conflicts (yay, me Americano) with my Anglican principles but you'll have to give me this one.

Hey, I just thought, can you sing that song that lists all the elements on the periodic table? It was the party piece of our chemistry master. That was as far into chemistry as we ever delved with him, but he taught us how to run a book, the odds and all this with a sub-strand of studying the form of a horse. Truth be known, I'd rather have boned up on my crystalline tropane alkaloids because I don't gamble [well not on horses, anyway].